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DISCOURSE. 






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PUBLICS FAS1 



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v tion ha» 

can alone a^ 

owm with 
\ Ul war 

■ 
*»uc ; on 
nd not ;■* of 

..on th- Sousand 

warrior^ <d more tha: 

• 
despot, w s and dopi- *ho plur 



property, burns our merchantmen, insults our govern- 
ment, and whose friendship would prove still more fa- 
tal, than his hostility. In such a contest, ' shall your 
brethren go to war V Let every New-Englandman 
say, no.... no.... no.... and we may yet be saved from 
political perdition. 

I]t is not, my brethren, the orders of council ; no, 
nor the Berlin and Milan decrees which produced 
them, that are the real cause of our misfortunes. 
Had our own conduct been impartial and dignified, 
they would never have been passed. A firm tone and 
a decided resistance to the first act of foreign aggres- 
sion, from whatever quarter it came, would have 
caused our rights to have been respected. But, 
since the fatal prostration of the Washington princi- 
ples, a series of measures has been pursued by the 
administration, with an obstinacy and perseverance 
truly astonishing, that has involved both rulers and 
people in difficulties almost inextricable. Yes, my 
brethren, it is to that submissive spirit and blind par- 
tiality towards France in our governours, and to that 
unhappy antipathy towards England in almost all 
classes of our fellow-citizens, to which we ought fair- 
ly to attribute the alarming and portentous situation 
of the country. 

" The president," says Mr. Walsh, " in announ- 
cing, by his proclamation of the 2d of November, 
that the French decrees had actually been revoked, 
promulgated a mistake of very fatal consequence to 
those of our merchants, who soon after attempted to 



open a trade with France. Fortunate!;- 
the nun heac %r. 

trie l "n»t: 

<tuout ami retoh. 

■Minnie. Tin errour, into «lu«h hewn betra) 

11 in 
another of much hitf! I 

i it occasioned our ifovcrnn. 

, as announc< 1 m tIk pr 
ibb cabinet, and the i. 
urged, upon i I'jr thr rc|*al < l 

; as, since t h 
not ' 

otifirm our administra 
ngenuous and all 
: 

i on 
the I 
the r 

c the *or. 

plain 

cation aft). 

it. 

it ■ ■ 

■ 



the revocation of the French decrees on the 2d of 
November, and to congress, who were called upon, 
on the same ground, to adopt so serious a measure 
as the revival of the non-intercourse, to make every 
effort to obtain from Bonaparte an explicit avowal of 
the comprehension, which he intended to give to the 
phrases, ' new principles of blockade/ and ' the 
causing our neutral rights to be respected.' 

When it became notorious, that our vessels, arri- 
ving in France after the 2d of November, were se- 
questered, although some of them were not even lia- 
ble to the Berlin and Milan decrees, no pains should 
have been spared to ascertain officially and without 
delay, the precise period, at which the revocation of 
those decrees was to become absolute, since the gov- 
ernment obviously committed a mistake in suppos- 
ing the 2d of November to be that period. Yet was 
there displayed, not merely a culpable indifference 
about a full ecclaircissement, but a strong disinclina- 
tion to be enlightened ; a petulant fretfulness, when 
there occurred either an opportunity of procuring ev- 
idence, or a disclosure of facts explanatory of the 
truth. We saw an eager disposition, on the part of 
the executive, to pervert the testimony, borne by ev- 
ery fresh article of intelligence from France,... and a 
marked preference, if not a firm resolution, on the 
part of the legislature, to decide, while the subject 
was still involved in obscurity, or rather before the 
certain revelations of a few succeeding months, should 
dissipate every shadow of doubt. 



of all t)> 

■ 

pO«r. 

I 

! 
the 



of our government, since the commencement of this 
new juggle of the French emperor. 

In no one instance has there been either wisdom 
in their deliberations, or fortitude in their conduct. 
Never certainly have the publick councils of any na- 
tion exhibited, within so short a period, so much of 
conscious imbecility and vain-glorious menace,. ...so 
much of shameless inconsistency and clumsy disin- 
genuousness,...so much of pedantry and foppery,. ..of 
bold pretension and puling apology. Every step of 
our administration has indicated, if not what Boling- 
broke calls ' sousing prostitution,' at least a combina- 
tion of weakness and folly, of narrow prejudice and 
low artifice, calculated to produce effects equally dis- 
astrous. In their habitual policy there is nothing but 
what is ignoble and inglorious, confused and grovel- 
ling, illiberal and sordid ; what is fitted to emascu- 
late and degrade the state, to lower the conceptions of 
the nation, and blunt her moral sense, the corner- 
stone upon which the fabrick of our liberty rests."* 

Such is the portrait of our rulers, drawn by this 
able and eloquent writer ; and, if the likeness be true, 
surely they ought not to possess the confidence of 
die people, nor ought these eastern states to suffer 
themselves to be plunged into a ruinous war, with 
ihe only nation, that supports the rights of man, and is 
willing and able to save the remains of liberty and in- 
dependence from utter annihilation. I cannot con- 
ceive, that we have any cause of war with Great - 

* Walsh, No. iv. p. 230. 



1 :ut man- 

I irr of a COl. - 

c as a i homage paid to 

] to be disab 

•'ir iivju< • f iIru locntmcot 

< hcaapcak wat tcttkd, tin rr remained 
complaint w» our part, bat 
onkr "» tttr n 

1 

fiuul organ of the 

il.oYtL. 

> «»J Ik 
act* the nature of things. I 

I <►! Berlin and 

from the nature of thing 

uration, is it not an insult on 
i rxUm'.m.- |rj tell us, that tin decrees ar 
>t the r stances 

at tea, I ■ 

V\ 

n of 

con- 
it to tall 

a 



ro 

wrongs ? And who is the aggressor ? Is he not 
Napoleon ? Is he not that ferocious and blood-thirsty 
tyrant, who battens on the miseries of man, and vio- 
lates at pleasure every law human and divine ? And, 
whilst he confiscates our property, burns our mer- 
chantmen, imprisons our citizens, and tells our gov- 
ernment, that they are ' without honour and just po- 
litical views,' we are, forsooth, whining about the or- 
ders in council, and refusing all accommodation with 
England, who is willing to sacrifice every thing to 
conciliate us, except her honour and independence. 
If the orders in council were rescinded, our queru- 
lous rulers would find out or invent other causes of 
irritation, some impressment of seamen, or some 
Henry-plot, some contrivance to inflame the passions 
of the people, and prevent a cordial reconciliation be- 
tween the two countries. 

That Great-Britain is disposed to be on good 
terms with us, I think, she has proved by her conduct. 
She sent out Mr. Rose to apologize and offer repara- 
tion for the attack on the Chesapeak. We refused 
the apology. She sent out Mr. Jackson with full 
powers to make a treaty. With him we broke off all 
intercourse, without assigning any reason sufficient to 
satisfy the minds of intelligent and impartial men. 
Though we withdrew our embassadour from the 
court of St. James's, she still persevered in her pacif- 
ick measures, and sent out Mr. Foster. Him we 
threaten with immediate war ; and should we wage it, 
and, in alliance with France, succeed in ruining Great- 



11 

ration u\ 

lit*: raion to fatter thcnisrl\< n " ith mi < - Tin 

■ 

lta« *hnv id. not 

that the can fight Franc 

IkT t*\ hci I 

tftooi rak in of l>cr ■Bon Kin vi.:e«l fx-r aoi dkt a, and 

w hour*, the combined and 

the atul the ufu.l< 

his 

ncn' empir 

the «- a, nor ipa. 

k and 
to wage it, when 
ham on 

; w 

dcr a au^ar isl .'all lo\e all 

com sh.tll t> 

' ss and privation*, and ultim 

rid vntjs' Al>cn we arc st 



12 

to ensure it ; when our treasury is full, and our pop- 
ulation increased ; when we have an army, and a na- 
vy ; when we have a just cause, and an united peo- 
ple ; when she has laid aside her armour, and repos- 
es in peace, from which she does not love to be rousr 
ed. But let us not attempt it, at this moment, with 
empty coffers, without ships and soldiers ; when the 
justice of our cause is at least problematical ; when 
our citizens are not united as to the policy of war,... 
whilst she is clad in complete steel, in the pride of 
victory, in the plenitude of power. 

In a word, my brethren, there is no dispute be- 
tween this country and Great-Britain, that two men, 
well disposed, could not settle in half an hour. Judge 
yourselves where the fault lies, that an accommoda- 
tion has not taken place. A war would be disgrace- 
ful and injurious to both countries ; and France, the 
common enemy of both, would alone derive any ben- 
efit from the contest. And shall we reward her, for 
all her spoliations and insults, by gratifying her self- 
ish wishes ? ' Shall your brethren go to war,' and 
thus, by exhausting the resources of your country, 
render it an easier prey to French ambition ? 

Were the injuries inflicted on us by France and 
England equal, which is far from being the case, still 
we should naturally conclude, that descendants of 
Englishmen, next to their own country, would feel 
some partiality towards the land of their ancestors. 
Thence we derive all that is valuable in religion and 
morals,. ..the common law,, ..the habeas corpus,... the 



...and that \\nia and those prm 
freedom of our i 

; i we been Ur 

m< ;u: :i. !. :-;. .''.,i- -in. 01 imperial, km JAVtj U< u 
:*c latter uv, 
gloomy tyrant, -rid. 

r Jrcl whole tenor of bet 

that 0»r i\ boat Britain p c ot taa ca ft 

and ha* 
I an accommodation, and shown a forbcar.r 

icxjto trd from to r> 
I ■ ill bear mo; 
. A 
. from a: »ler«of »■< 

rec* arr 
I m\ brethren, t! 

i-oer wo» int gpeat 

that iuti< 

1 ihal wc go 

ur iwuy ei tj . who Km 

ads < ■ ak s the same langu.* | 

that can. 
misIm-'. for our friendship, ...that is fighting for 

-rid... that can d 
moat ha r ist good in pcac 

li,t)v 1 :;un < 

ot the powi 

1 on iv 



14 

thinks necessary for her own security ; from the re- 
peal of which act we should derive no possible advan- 
tage, since France has officially declared, that her de- 
crees can neither be changed, modified, nor sus- 
pended, but will remain eternally the fundamental 
law of her empire. If we do go to war for such an 
object, with such a nation, at such a time, destitute 
as we are of union, money, soldiers, and ships, in 
the estimation of common sense 

• The force of folly can no farther go.' 

But then our honour is at stake. How a British 
war is to recover the honour, which we have long 
lost by our submission to French injustice, philoso- 
phers may explain, but men of common sense cannot. 

What then are we to do ? Why, if we will not 
go to war with France for her atrocious conduct, 
with regard to England we had 

' better bear the ills we have, 

' Than fly to others that we know not of.' 

We have very considerable sources of commerce 
open to us, the two Indies, Spain and Portugal, the 
Baltic, England, Ireland, Scotland, and South Amer- 
ica ; and, if we do not enjoy all the advantages, that 
might be derived from this commerce, whom ought 
we to blame but ourselves, with our embargoes, and 
non-intercourses, and restrictive energies, and all that 



pfcilrttrH^iiwifl miunmm . which would ^ha 

ble, \ i'. ivh war 

I diwi - 
uv th-*n any H« inn 

ancr ol the <«tl< 

^ «»l tl»e 
• 
on.tiocnf.ij I : ;- .is arv uimU r \\tc jl«>mi!»:<.n «>1 

^crc the o 

I 
crce» rnnain in fon • hen. 

and 

i 

of. 

< oniinit <nic (Mltragl 
mIik-ss. Ilxirruw m i\ lie compared lo th< 

■■'•c mcjctitN 

'■.'. 

i 
i ' 



16 

merce, and compelled to fight for our independence 
on our own soil. 

Our national misfortunes arise, my brethren, from 
the measures of our own administration. I wish not 
to speak disrespectfully of the gentlemen, who com- 
pose it. As individuals, they may possess every ac- 
complishment human and divine. But, as statesmen, 
as legislators, they have not pursued the true interest 
of confederated America. What greater proof can 
be given, than the scene, to which you were wit- 
nesses on the last Sunday ; when, on the alarming 
news of another embargo, the sanctity of the Sabbath 
was violated, and its sacred rest broken, by the exer- 
tions of our fellow-citizens to save their property 
from the oppression of their oivn government ? A 
scene truly astonishing and unprecedented ! a people 
flying from the capricious tyranny of their own rulers, 
and throwing themselves on the generosity of a na- 
tion menaced by them with war and invasion ! If 
our merchants thought, what our government affirm, 
that the disposition of Great-Britain is hostile, this 
conduct would be an act of madness. What ! rush 
unarmed into the power of an enemy, omnipotent on 
the waves ! voluntarily surrender to a hostile nation 
that wealth, which will increase her means of annoy- 
ing you ! There cannot, my brethren, be a stronger 
proof of distrust of our own government, and of con- 
fidence in the honour and good faith of Great-Britain, 
than our thus taking refuge, beneath her naval shield, 
from the destructive paralysis of our own embargo. If 



thb be a comphmc -land, and a reflection on 

our own rulcr^ whence originate 
our atta ch ment to I liostonians, 

are rebel* to our own government ...uc ajn 
partisan who first resided the constitutional 

urhmc ' . vl the 

nary atandard in thi 1 

c of a f man, 

■■probable 
Ionian, impovuUc paralleled *4i ning * 

tropolit, mu>t endear t)>c \pot to < labitant, 

oik! iiuj. !>cd, 

if nrccaaary, the bat drop of blood ice. 

> cmnhalicj Utc language of a 

popular 

' I*miW* Ihm lb* bis, «>tk «*J «o dead. 
- to Iusmt M lull 









18 

Living 1 shall forfeit fair renown, 

And, doubly dying, shall go down 

To the vile dust, from whence he sprung, 

Unwept, unhonoured, and unsung.' 

1 Shall your brethren go to war V God for- 
bid, that they should engage in a contest so unhal- 
lowed, without an adequate object, without ade- 
quate means, with a nation, who upholds the re- 
maining liberties of the world, and earnestly so- 
licits our friendship... .in favour of a power, whose 
hostility is inexorable, whose aim at universal domi- 
nation is undisguised, whose ferocity no submission 
can mitigate, who lives by plunder, confiscation, and 
blood. In such a contest, success would prove fatal, 
and accelerate our subjugation to France ; and what 
must be the nature of that war, in which victory 
would be worse than defeat, and the disgrace of our 
arms the preservation of our liberties ? 

But that providence, which has so often interfer- 
ed to ' save our eyes from tears, and our feet from 
falling,' has once more interposed its guardian care. 
The eyes of our fellow-citizens are opening, and they 
are becoming more sensible to the ruinous tendency 
of our publick councils. God grant, that this spirit 
of discernment may increase ; that the decided disap- 
probation of New- England, and of this state in par- 
ticular, so distinguished for its good sense, may 
cause our rulers to pause, and reflect, before they 



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